A Peek In My Cart

This week finds me shopping at Market Basket again. Stop&Shop did not offer any gas points deals this week which was a total heart breaker. I guess they figure that everyone has to shop during the holiday, so why try to entice them further?

Stop&Shop isn’t the only one using this tactic. As I flip through my grocery ads, I see that there are lackluster food “deals” everywhere. Not only that, but shelf prices appear to be climbing while promotions are decreasing. A worrisome trend.

But eat we must. So, off to Market Basket I went. While their circular wasn’t particularly spectacular either, they had $1.66 Ocean Spray cranberries which is the lowest price I’ve seen lately.

While it may appear that I’m doing my Thanksgiving shopping, I’m not. I’m stocking up on .59/lb turkey while I can. I’m only allowed to buy two turkeys a day at Market Basket which means they are going to see a lot of me this week.

My plan is to shove 14 of these birds in my freezer. It will be the ultimate game of Turkey Tetris, but I’m up for the challenge. How often do you get .59/lb proteins?

Between my coupon binder, turkeys and the milk, it was amazing that I could get the cart to roll through the store.

And here you see the mountain of cranberries. I’m kind of a cranberry fool. As much as I love home made cranberry sauce as a side dish, I equally love them in baked goods and on top of pork loin or chops.

If you love cranberries as much as I do, definitely check out what I made yesterday for a decadent holiday appetizer. And it’s easy to make! Gotta love that during the hectic holiday season!

Tomorrow I hit the drug stores because I’m low on some things couponers shouldn’t be low on. It hurts me to type the following two words. Toilet paper. Gah. Can you believe it? The Coupon Goddess would’ve never let that happen. I hang my head.

How about you? Are your store sales ho-hum this week as well? Have you started your holiday food shopping yet? Do you even have your holiday menu planned? Dish with me!

Comments

I really do miss the great gas deals at stop & shop lately, even though the gas prices are dropping!! But great deal on the turkeys.. and 15 holy moly!! I love love turkey. If I had the room I would probably do the same!!

I know. It’s a lot. But the other night I made a 10lb bird and we picked the dang thing clean. I fault the teens. I also have three freezers, so that makes it a little easier to stock up. Not to mention, last Christmas I didn’t see turkeys as cheap as Thanksgiving. They jumped by .20lb. I figure I need to strike while the fryer is hot. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

I thought I saw turkeys for $.49/lb. at Shaw’s, but you might have had to spend a certain amount of money first. I make my own cranberry sauce and can it. Last year I made enough to last through until the spring. It tastes so much better than the store bought and I only have to make it once. Maybe I’ll go to Market Basket and buy more cranberries. It would be nice to make twice as much and give some to family for the holidays.
Don’t you just love Market Basket? I grew up in Lowell so I have been a fan of them for about 45 years now.

I really should follow your lead and can it. I’m freezing the cranberries so I can have them throughout the winter. Yes, Shaw’s had a one day deal. I didn’t get there on that day. Boo hoo. There just wasn’t enough in the Shaw’s ad that prompted me to go to the store. I’m really disappointed in Shaw’s lately. The more I shop at MB, the more I like it. I love love the fair prices on the produce. And the dairy is reliably affordable. I just wish they doubled coupons, but I guess that would be crazy talk.

Their prices have always been wonderful. When I first moved here there wasn’t an MB. My parents would come to visit and bring care packages for me. Back then MB have free items for every $20 you spent. Usually it was a 5 lb. bag of flour or sugar, or a lb. of butter or a dozen eggs. I wish they would do that again. You realize that if they doubled coupons they’d have to raise their prices and then they would be like any other store in the area. I really like that they put coupons on the items in the aisles. I hope they never stop doing that.

There are some great deals at a local store here in PA, Schiel’s, which is part of the Shur Save grocery store chain. Anywho, 38 cent stove top stuffing (after coupon) (which I don’t make for Thanksgiving as I make homemade stuffing), but good to stock up this time of year to use as sides at other times. Cracker Barrel cheese for $1.38, so I do plan on throwing these babies in the freezer to have for a while too. Turkey is 49 cents a pound at this store, but you have to buy $35 worth of other groceries. This I can do and with a few transactions will have turkeys in my freezers as well. My husband receives a free turkey from his company, which is the one we will use for Thanksgiving but I do think this is the best time to stock up as well. There are a few other deals on gravy and such, but again, making it homemade for the “big” day but using these throughout the year and buying while the prices are low and there are coupons galore just makes sense – as all us couponers surely know.

Holy moly, I’d be stocking up on cheese too. That is an amazing price!!! I like jar gravy for everyday meals. Honestly, gravy takes time to make. And while I like it home made for the holidays, jarred is just fine by me for a weeknight meal. I’m hoping that next week’s circulars are better for us. We clearly need a Schiel’s.

Nancy (or Melanie since it is your blog :)), do you have any good recipes to use Stove Top Stuffing. I bought a lot because it was on sale, and we don’t like it by itself. It’s too salty for us, but maybe it’s good as a casserole? If not, I’m just going to donate it during the food drive, but I’d love to find a use for it because I know this is the season it goes on sale.

Hi Cassie Sue. I have a great recipe for chicken casserole. I just cook chicken breasts (2 pounds), let them cool, shred it up, add one can of your fav cream of whatever soup, cheese, mushroom, celery, broccoli, whatever, then add one can of sour cream and mix this all together with a spoon right in a long baking dish. Then make the stuffing as directed on the box, spread over the chicken mixture, cover, and bake. Easy peasy. And my family loves this meal. I usually serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie for a quick, easy, and filling dinner any nite of the week. Hope this helps.

I would cry if I lost my freezer stockpile. That must’ve been heartbreaking. Did you post about the jam? Feel free to slap a link up here to share. I’d love to see it. I’ve been behind on my blog reading and haven’t seen what’s going out there in the food blogging world. I wish my readers who have blogs would post a link to their latest posts in their comments. Some bloggers are offended by that, but I love it. It’s great to see what other people are writing about!

You know, I’ve never been one to buy flowers. But now that I’m food blogging, I’ve found that they add a pop of color and visual interest to my posts. While I won’t buy them every week, now and again is ok. Also, thank you for checking out my new blog. It means a lot to me.

Out here in Seattle, our deals are pretty lackluster this week as well. No good turkey deals without spending at least $50-100 and I so rarely do that in one fell swoop these days. I bought a few frozen turkeys last year for a couple bucks each and threw them in the freezer along with some spiral hams and New York holiday roasts. With teenage boys in the house, it’s really amazing how much food is consumed!

I had to stock up on TP and paper towels this week, too and after a look in my bath products closet, I’m thinking it’s almost time to start stocking up on body wash, shampoo, and razors again. I don’t think I’ve purchased any of that in the last year.

Yup, those teenagers are like hoovers when it comes to food. Oy. I’m in the same boat as you. Low. Especially on razors. CVS has a good deal on the Fusion this week, but that limit of one per card is a real killer. Even so, I’ll be stopping for my solitary razor this week.

I’ve been a loyal reader from The Coupon Goddess to Melanie in the Middle. Your post about your favorite food blogs has changed my life! I looked at every one of those blogs and found recipes that were quick, easy, and tasty! I never knew that cooking could be so much fun! I love your new blog, A Beautiful Bite. I can’t wait to see all of those amazing pics!

My holiday menu is not planned! I do have a couple of new recipes that I would like to bring to the Thanksgiving Day table. I also know how you feel…..I am low on toothpaste! EWWW! I will be in the drug store too!

Melanie – I am in the process of starting a blog. Do you have any ideas for a newbie?

Aww, that is so very kind of you to say. I’m so glad you enjoyed that list. There are some real gems on it. It makes me happy to know that you got some inspiration from it as well!!

As far as starting a blog goes, congrats! What do you want to write about? I guess that’s the starting point. Whatever you do, start on WordPress. Don’t ask why. Just trust me. Are you tech inclined? If not, have someone help you set your site up. Having a pretty blog is important. It needs to look appealing. Connect with other bloggers in your local area. That’s really important too. Just do a google search for blogging groups in your city. Most major cities have blogging networks.

That should be enough to get you started. Let me know if you have any questions.

I’m in SC (temporarily) and love my Bi-Lo, if anyone is near one. I got a Honeysuckle White for $8 with the card, no other purchase required. If only I had a freezer…but I don’t plan to be here too long, trying to transfer to Pittsburgh so I’d be strappin’ those turkeys on the roof for the ride up. LOL Totally can see me doing that. Think I’ll just settle for one…

I’m on my last pack to TP too! It’s heartbreaking! However, I have PT coming out the wazoo, but alas, no TP!

I’m sad about the S&S gas points too. I’m hoping it’s temporary and it seems that that will be the case…

I got the 400 points for $75 on my flyer, but there isn’t anything I really need (besides TP…haha) to get to the $75, so wasn’t worth it for me. Giant got 300 points for a turkey (and there were ones at 10 lb that counted and made it a MM). Sad we don’t have a Giant here…

Good idea getting extra turkeys. I get a free, fresh turkey from work every year, so don’t usually pay attention to the sales. Hannafords has them for 49 cents a lb. this week, so I’ll be filling my freezer for after the holiday.

Do you have an Aldi’s? If so Oceanspray Cranberries are $1 a bag. I bought 3 and froze two. I make a cranberry ribbon bread that my husband loves. I need to get somemore. The turkey prices make me crazy. Here is Texas it seems you have a minimum purchase for every turkey deal.